Destines and Memories
by Neo Staff
Summary: much better summery insideAU.Four billion years ago the world almost came to ruin because of a demon named Naraku.But at the world’s darkest moment,one light shown through it all.Kagome,a princess goddess,saved the world by putting the demon in to a deep
1. Chapter 1

**Destines and Memories **

_**By: Neo Staff**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters. (Though I can dream that I do)

_Summery: AU. Four billion years ago the world almost came to ruin because of a demon named Naraku. But at the world's darkest moment, one light shown through it all. Kagome, a princess goddess, saved the world by putting the demon in to a deep slumber, before she to slept with the promise she would be back when the world was once again plagued be Naraku. Now, fast forward to the warring stages in Japan, where Naraku is being awoken. Once again the world is starting to go dark slowly. It is now up to Inuyasha, a young hanyou, to fulfill part of his destiny by and finding and awakening Kagome once more. But when she awoke again, she remembers nothing…and that includes how to defeat Naraku. Now Inuyasha has to help Kagome regain her memory and help her defeat Naraku…while trying not to fall in love with her._

Kagome, a light miko of the highest order, ranked at the number 2 spot of 5, sat be herself, watching the clouds go by. It had only been a few hours since she had entered the clearing, but she knew that she couldn't stay for long. Her destiny, and maybe even her death, would soon be close at hand. The evil that she had felt all of her life was coming closer, searching…searching…searching for her and her powers, along with her fellow miko's and priests.

'Maybe this won't happen.' She thought, standing up. 'Maybe I'm wrong and this evil is just a simple demon holding a shard of the Shikon no Kakra.' She sighed then, knowing it was only what she wanted to hear. 'I have never been one to guess on such matters as these and get them right.'

"Kagome?" called a voice from off in the trees. "My lady Kagome are you out here? Please Lady! We need your help at once!"

Kagome, sensing fear and weakness, headed towards the voice, as calmly as she could.

"Sango?" Kagome asked as she saw the form of her long time friend emerge through the trees. "What is the matter Sango?"

Sango, whose face was hidden, didn't reply. "Sango?" Kagome asked again, knowing that something was wrong. Sango again didn't reply. All was quiet for a moment…then Sango fell forward, revealing a dark colored matter behind her.

"Sango!" Kagome cried, racing to her fallen friend. The thing that had killed her, or at least had found her body, receded into the darkness behind it, laughing softly.

"Sango! Sango! Please, open your eyes!" this was more emotion then Kagome had shown in a long time, and she knew it. The Miko's of the highest order were not allowed to show emotion…ever. The only time that she had ever know of it being allowed was when one of the Elders had died.

Kagome turned Sango over, not wanting to know what she might see. But it turned out that Sango just appeared to be sleeping. Of course, looks are deceiving.

"Don't worry." Kagome whispered, lifting her friend. "We shall be home soon and you shall live…even if it is not in this time."

Then, whispering a few ancient words, the wind picked up and she and Sango were gone in the next second.

"My Lady! What happened?" cried one of the servants of Kagome's castle.

"She has collapsed in battle and needs attention." Kagome said, brushing past the servant and heading towards the healers wing, though she had a healers power herself. She didn't dare use any of her stored power, not unless she wanted to be weaker when she fought the force coming for them.

Kagome suddenly stopped, knowing that the healers would not be able to do anything for her.

"My Lady?" asked a servant. Kagome turned around, ignoring everyone, and once again raced off, arriving at her destination in mere seconds.

'Time Room 1' read the sigh on the wooden door.

Kagome at once entered, hoping that she would not be to late.

"Where do I place her?" she snapped out when no one in the room moved to take Sango from her.

"Place her here, Kagome." Came another voice from the door. Kagome turned to find her brother and her fiancé standing at the door. Kagome nodded to her brother, the one who spoke, and smiled at her fiancé.

"Don't worry, love." Said the other man as Kagome set Sango down on one of the special time tables. "She will live on, in another future."

Kagome nodded slightly, still distracted and trying to show no more emotion then was necessary. Moving to the side of the table, she placed her hands on the correct spaces and started to whisper the words she had been taught as a young child, but told never to use, unless it was life and death. And here was life and death.

Speaking faster, she noticed that her hands were starting to glow and grow warm…very warm. Finally, as she was speaking so fast it was all the others could do to understand her, and her hands were so hot they were burning fiercely, a barrier formed around Sango.

"Get her to healers." Souta, Kagome's brother who was a priest and number 3 among the most powerful, said.

"I'll take her." Kagome's fiancé said, catching the falling girl. "Here Kagome, I have you."

"K-Kouga?" Kagome asked. But she never got an answer, and, just as her world went black, she thought, 'I'll never learn my limits, and I know it…'

A/N: RandR! Now, you can't yell at me for this! It's a prologish thing so no yelly about shortness! Anyways, please read my other fanfics, hopefully you'll like The Princess Slave, but w/e! Hope you can read the other! Love ya all lots lots!

Nene-Chan (Neo Staff)


	2. Chapter 2

B:

"K-Kouga?" Kagome asked. But she never got an answer, and, just as her world went black, she thought, 'I'll never learn my limits, and I know it…'

N:

"Will she be alright?" Kouga asked Souta. "She's not going to…die…or anything, is she?"

"No, no." Souta said, helping to lift Kagome higher into Kouga's arms, a concerned look on his face. "She'll be fine as long as she goes to the healers now. Come on, we need to get there soon." Kouga nodded silently and followed Souta from the room.

"What about Sango?" Kouga asked, glancing back into the room. But there were already other, lower ranking, priests there, checking her pulse and brain waves.

"She'll be fine, my lord." One of them said, looking up from his work. "Don't worry." Kouga nodded, thankful that they had Shippou on their team. He might only be a kitsun, but he was a powerful one.

"Come on!" Souta said impatiently. "If we keep stopping we're never going to get her there in time and my sister will…." Kouga just nodded again and he and Souta ran down the rest of the corridor. Since it had been a long time ago, before the time chambers had been made, the healers wing was located on the other side of the castle.

"Damn it!" Souta said. They had come to another part of the castle that was being rebuilt. Kagome had ordered this only a few weeks ago, knowing that it needed to be done if they were to withstand an attack. "We're running out of time!"

Suddenly there was a tremendous crash to their north side. They were all, including the workers, thrown to the ground by the force of it. "Come on," Kouga said, looking at Kagome with sad eyes. "Let's go back to Shippou and the others. I have an idea." Souta, not caring what it really was at that moment, agreed and they ran back the way they had come.

A short while later they came panting back into the Time corridor and into Sango's room. "My Lords!" Shippou said, looking from one to the other. "What are you still doing here? Why do you still have the Lady?"

"Shut up," Kouga said, his patience now none existent. "Do you have an extra Time bed for My Lady?" Everyone's eyes widened, though not Souta's or Kouga's.

"Is it really that serious, Lord?" Shippou asked, stepping forward. Kouga opened his mouth but it was Souta who said, "It is. It's either this or the Lady," another crash though everyone stayed upright. "dies. There's no way for us to get the healers wing with all of the construction going on." Another crash and they all swayed.

"Well?" Kouga said, his fangs baring in a Growl. "Do you or not?"

"Yes," Shippou said, running out of the room to the other wall. "This way." And he put his little hands on the stones there and spoke a few words. The wall turned into a door, which he jumped to open. "In here." He said, leading the way in. "Place her on there." He indicated a large bed in the center of the room.

"Why is it so big?" Asked Kouga as he set her down. He stroked her face and said, "She never did like big things."

"It's to enhance her powers." Souta said, inspecting the side of the bed. "Why are there inscriptions here?" he asked, running his hands over them. "And why did Kagome make them?"

"Sand back," Shippou said. Both Kouga and Souta moved away. "The Lady had us make this in secret. She thought, I think knew, that she might one day need it." A barrier formed around Kagome. No one had spoken anything so Souta and Kouga turned to Shippou who shrugged. "Her power. As for the inscriptions. They were also her doing. I don't know what they say, not sure anyone does but the Lady."

"So what are we suppose to do now?" Kouga said. "If she can do all of this by herself why doesn't she just heal herself?"

Shippou shrugged. "Like I said, the Lady knew she might need this one day. Maybe…maybe she knows that she will have a better chance in the future to defeat the evil she felt."

"What?" Kouga said. "What do you mean the evil she felt?"

"The Lady has been talking about felling some evil for the past few weeks." He replied. At this Souta nodded as well.

"Yes," he said. "She told me about it to." He looked at Kouga, who had a hurt expression on his face.

"She never said a word to me," he said. "She only said…" he was cut off by Kagome, who started to tremble…but they couldn't do anything for her wile she was behind that barrier. A roaring started and filled the room, but it wasn't from the numerous fires in the castle. It was coming from Kagome.

"What is she doing?" shouted Kouga. "Is this suppose to happen?"

"I don't know!" Shippou replied, watching his dear friend as a faint glow surrounded her. "She is doing all of this on her own!"

"She putting up a seal!" Souta shouted, edging away from her as the slight glow grew bigger. "She's going to seal whatever she feels somewhere so she can deal with it later!" he glanced at one side of the table she was on. "That's what some of these ruins are for!" he realized. "To help her powers grow as she sleeps!"

"Why can't she just wake up then?" Kouga shouted. But he never got an answer to that. Instead he saw Souta's eyes grow wide as he back all the way to the door…but it was locked.

"What is it?" Shippou asked, watching as Souta franticly tried to open the door.

"She's locked it!" he said. "She not only going to seal that demon…she's going to erase our memory of where she is!"

"What?" the others shouted un unison. But the reply they received was drowned out by the roaring become louder and the light around Kagome streaking out of her, striking the wall, and racing through the air. Next second, a terrible cry split the air and then…nothing.

They all blinked and glanced around. The table that Kagome had been on was gone. There was only some black stuff, after later inspection it turned out to be soot though no one really knew where it came from, on the floor where it had been. But they didn't notice any of this really.

"What…what happened?" Souta asked, looking around the room. "Where is my sister?"

"I don't know…" Kouga said, also looking around. "I don't remember…"

Shippou, though, sighed and looked out of the hole Kagome had made. "She didn't." he said.

"Didn't what?" Kouga asked as they left the room to prepare for battle. Though he was concerned of where his Kagome was, he knew not to be to afraid. He knew, for some reason, that she was safe.

"She must have put a memory displacement charm on everyone." Souta said, and Shippou nodded.

"Exactly what I was thinking, and going to say, Highness." He smiled at Souta. "She must have had good reason though."

They all nodded, went around a fine that was almost out, and then went their separate ways each going to where they were needed most. The small invasion that started soon turned into a full fledged war. Even though Naraku was not there to lead, another demon took over.

Kagome, usually the one in charge of battle plans and usually the one who knew what to do, where to strike, and how to keep most alive, wasn't there either. But she had taught everyone well, every soldier, priest, priestess, everyone knew what to do without her.

"She really did know she would need that one day…" Shippou said as he started to heal another victim.

"What was that?" someone near him asked.

"Nothing." Shippou said, and finished setting a bone into place.

A/N: RandR and I'll update faster! Lol. Please read my other stories especially Cry for me, My Destiny, I know you'll like it! Anyways, I feel like some of you only like one piece of my work and none of the others…well, meh, maybe I'll not update for a while again? Kidding kidding kidding, I know you're all mad at me. Anyways, more updates to come!

--Nene


	3. Chapter 3

"What was that?" Someone near him asked.

"Nothing." Shippou said, and finished setting a bone into place.

(A few hours later)

"Master Shippou, sir! Master Shippou!" Called a man, running down the corridor towards said kitsun.

"Ah, Marina do you have…what? What is it, what's happened?" Shippou took on a frantic look as he saw Marina's worried one.

"They're retreatin', sir, ery las one o' em." She took a deep breath, and continued. "We're searchin' their camp right now, sir, but we ain't found nothin' yet to esplin why they just got up n left."

"I wonder if…" Shippou started. "The lady…she must have done something." He turned again to Marina ad said, "Where is their leader?"

"Dunno, sir, he ain't there neither, he gone and left to." She looked around the hall, seeing if anyone else was around before she said, "That Lord Naraku, sir, there's a rumor goin' 'round 'bout him now."

"Rumor?" Shippou asked. He really wasn't into gossiping lately, as mostly what he head were snips at Kagome, but now he asked, "What rumor?"

"The one 'bout that Lord bein' one of them hanyou's, have demons like." Marine seemed to be having great fun in telling Shippou this. "And wonderin' if the Lady was really as strong as was bein' said."

At this Shippou almost blew his top, he was so angry that anyone would say that.

"And who," he asked, trying not to grit his teeth or fangs. "Did you hear this form?"

"Oh, a fair few people." Marine said, watching Shippou closely. "But it don't matter, they was all just being stupid."

"Damn right…" Shippou muttered and started to walk away, Marine following. "What else was said?"

"Well, they was wonderin', them that started this rumor, what happened to him now." Marine glanced at Shippou and went on, "They say there was an light and then someun scremin' then nothing, that Lord was gone or something'." This was defiantly news to Shippou. "Do you think it could be that the Lady's gone and gotten rid o' the Lord?"

At this Shippou shook his head, turned a corner and said,"No, I don't think so. She's…gone into stasis, and is going to be for a while. But you might as well tell everyone that Naraku is gone…for now. We don't need to worry the people any more than is necessary."

"Right you are, sir, I'll go straight to tell them." She turned to go, but then stopped and said, "What about that army, sir? It's gone and retreated, but do you wanna have us on our toes or our butts, sir?"

"Toes," Shippou said, heading into the mess hall, ready for a very late breakfast, or an early lunch, whatever was still edible. "Just in case those bastards decide to come back for a surprise attack. Dismissed."

Marina slated Shippou and ran off, to deliver her messages. Shippou watched her run away before he entered into the mess hall. He smiled as he found other late arrivers and the cooks looking murderous at everyone for running their time off.

'I'll never get over the way she talks to everyone,' Shippou thought, and he went and got his food before sitting down and eating it. 'I hope that this is the end of the war, no more lives need be lost…'

But if only he had been right. Little did Shippou know, this war would go down in history as the longest war ever to rage, spanning thousands and thousands of years, where small fights, called wars in them selves as no one knew that there was a greater war going on, would break out everywhere, causing mass chaos.

And all of this, soon, would be enough blood, enough deaths, to awaken the most feared demon of the planet earth, Naraku. This, as it was prophecies, would, in turn, awaken the Slayer, the Goddess, the Peace, the Miko Kagome Higurashi, back into the world, memory less, friend less, and in need of great help from the most unlikely of peoples…

A/N: Yes, short, but it has lots of information! Anyways, the next chapter will be up soon and it'll be where Inuyasha and Miroku find the castle, awaken Kagome and Sango, and where this journey really starts!

Please check out my forum, it's cool and I'd love to chat with you all. Hope to see you there!


	4. Chapter 4

And all of this, soon, would be enough blood, enough deaths, to awaken the most feared demon of the planet earth, Naraku. This, as it was prophecies, would, in turn, awaken the Slayer, the Goddess, the Peace, the Miko Kagome Higurashi, back into the world, memory less, friend less, and in need of great help from the most unlikely of peoples…

"Come on, hurry up!" Said a voice in the distance, faint, but growing closer. "This place could go down any second man."

"I know I know, you've said it a hundred times." Said a second voice, sighing. "Why are we even here again?"

"I've _told_ you man! There's suppose to be a buried princess and treasure here!" The first voice grew excited. "They say she's perfectly preserved and so beautiful he shines!"

The second voice scoffed and said, "Miroku, you need to get a life. All you ever think about is chicks and cash."

Miroku's voice sounded hurt, but playful at the same time, "You know that's all you think about to Inuyasha. You just do _that_ behind closed doors." Then he laughed. "Wait, I forgot, you've _never_ done that!"

"Shut it!" Said Inuyasha, and the sound of someone being hit was heard. "Let's just not find the thing you think is here and leave, this is boring."

"Yeah yeah." Miroku said. "But I tell ya, she's here! And so is that treasure!"

Both voices grew silent aside from the few curses as they stubbed their toes or bumped their heads in the darkness of the run down, buried castle.

"Hey." Inuyasha said, stopping. "Hey hey hey! Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Miroku asked, stopping as well and listening hard. "There's nothing…"

"Shhh!" Inuyasha hissed, and they both fell silent. However, after a few moment and nothing was heard, they started on their way again.

"I could have sworn that I heard singing or something." Inuyasha said, stretching his head. "Ow!" He had scraped his fingers across the sunken ceiling.

"Singing?' Miroku asked. "But we're the only ones here. Probably an echo of our voices or something."

"Yeah man, you're voice does sound girly." Inuyasha said, laughing quietly.

"Stupid." Miroku said. Then he stopped suddenly, making Inuyasha run into him and they both almost fell forward.

"What the…why'd you stop?" Inuyasha asked.

"It was a girl's voice?" Miroku asked. "Then…it's that princess! See? I told you she was here."

"You idiot, I was only making fun of you." Inuyasha said, but Miroku knew that he was bluffing. Inuyasha did not often lie, and when he did, he was not very good at it.

"Come on, let's just keep…" However, Inuyasha never got to say 'moving.' Right at that moment the ground started to shake and tilt, causing them to both stumble and crash into each other and onto the floor.

Then a great cracking split the air and the floor fell away, just as the roof did the same. Both of them fell and fell, before blacking out from the falling stones hitting their heads.

Everything was dark in the dungeons of the castle. Nothing moved and nothing stirred. Everything was still.

Until, that is, the earth decided to shake a bit and the ceiling caved in. But it was not just stone that fell, so did two bodies. It was a long drop, but even so, when they hit, it was only with a very soft _thunk_: the landing had been soft.

It was a few moment, but as the dust started to settle the bodies started to move. Slowly at first, as though drugged.

"You ok man?" Miroku's voice asked.

"Peachy." Came Inuyasha's sarcastic voice. "Just perfect. You?"

"Dying." Miroku said as he hobbled over to Inuyasha, favoring his right leg. "What the hell happened?"

"Cave in." Inuyasha said, getting up and stretching his body. Nothing seemed broken, only sore. He looked up and whistled. "Damn! We fell a long way! It's a wonder we're not dead."

"I hope we can get out of here though." Miroku said. "I think we're probably in the…the…the…" he trailed off suddenly, as he looked over his shoulder.

"Dungeons?" Inuyasha supplied, thinking Miroku might have bumped his head harder then he thought. But when he got no answer, he looked at Miroku, who was not looking at him, but over his shoulder. "Miroku?" Inuyasha said, and he to looked.

It was the most magnificent sight he had ever seen. Gold. Gold everywhere. In addition, jewels, gems, and pottery were also strewn across the floor. Treasure, that's what it was, treasure. In the middle of it all, almost hidden from view, was a small casket, something like a coffin, bedecked in gold and precious and semi-precious jewels.

"Oh…my…God…" Inuyasha said, in awe.

"You said it." Miroku said, also in a state of awe and shock. Then he suddenly smiled. "Say it." He said, smirking at Inuyasha.

"Say what?' Inuyasha asked, still looking around at all the splendor, although not really noticing the half buried casket."

"Say I was right." Miroku said, still smirking.

"I was right." Inuyasha said, starting to laugh.

"Whatever, man." Miroku said, though he couldn't really be that mad with a shining wall of gold in front of him. "Wonder how much this is worth?"

"Dunno." Inuyasha said. "A lot I'm guessing."

"What's that?" Miroku asked, pointing to the coffin like object. "King? Queen?"

"I think that might be your princess." Inuyasha said as they started forward towards it, stepping around everything on the floor.

"No way…" Miroku said, wonder in his eyes. "You think? Think she's still beautiful?"

"I bet anything's beautiful with all of this around." Inuyasha said, reaching the casket first. "Ugh, there's dust everywhere."

"Then let's wipe it off and see what's inside!" Miroku cried out, gathering up a fistful of his shirt and started to scrub away at the dust and grime and whatever else was on it.

"Opening it might be better." Inuyasha said. This was before he noticed that it appeared to be made out of glass and see through. "Let me help you." He said, also starting to wipe, although a little faster than Miroku. He also wanted to see what was in here, even if it was just a body.

"Whoa…" Inuyasha said, as the first clean patch emerged. "Man…look at this!"

"What?" Miroku asked, coming over and helping to make the clear patch wider. "Man!" He cried out, taking a step back. "That's…that's not a body! That's a girl!"

"Seems we've found your princess." Inuyasha said. He took a closer look and gasped.

"What?" Miroku asked again.

Inuyasha face was dead white as he stepped back and looked up at Miroku.

"It seems she's also breathing…" he said.


	5. Chapter 5

Inuyasha face was dead white as he stepped back and looked up at Miroku.

"It seems she's also breathing…" he said.

It took a moment for Inuyasha's words to sink in.

"You're…joking, right?' Miroku asked, stumbling on his words a little. "She's been dead forever. You're just…" but he had to stop. He had been watching her chest and saw it gently rise and then fall. "No way…"

"Maybe she was buried alive?" Inuyasha asked, though he knew that answer before Miroku said anything.

"Can't have been unless someone's been coming down here and feeding here. But then we'd have seen marks…" They both looked around, but saw nothing. "No way no way no way." Miroku said.

"Well?" Inuyasha said, now getting a little excited. "What should we do?"

"What do you mean 'what should we do?'" Miroku burst out. "Nothing! Let's just grab some treasure and get out of here."

"I think this I the first time you've turned down a lady." Inuyasha said. Miroku just ignored him though.

"Come on." Miroku said, and he bent over and started to grab some of the stuff on the floor and shove it into a backpack he had brought.

"Yeah yeah." Inuyasha replied, and turned away. He had forgotten, though, that he had been standing in the midst of very loose objects, though, and as he turned, he slipped and fell.

He flung out his arms, trying to break his fall, and hit the side of the coffin with one hand and the ground with the other.

"Damn!" He yelled, shifting his weight off a particularly sharp coin. He tried to get up then, but found that he could not move the hand that had hit the coffin. "What the hell?"

It was stuck. However, that was not all. It was also starting to glow, and not just his hand, but the coffin as well, were now both starting to glow a bright blue color.

"Miroku, come get me off!" Inuyasha yelled, trying to pry is hand away, but to no avail. The shine of the coffin was getting brighter.

Miroku hobbled over, his leg still hurting, and tried to help. It was starting to get hard to keep their eyes open because of the blaze that was now the coffin.

"On three!" Miroku yelled. "One! Two! THREE!" They both pulled as hard as they could and kept pulling.

With a sharp _snap!_ His hand popped off the coffin, but now hung limp and useless, broken. However, Inuyasha did not notice, he was too transfixed on what was going on with the coffin.

Both of them now had to close their eyes, but it did not matter, they could still see what was happening, as though it were a movie playing on the inside of their eyelids.

The coffin, miraculously, was opening!

Slowly, but continuously, it opened, until the lid gave a small _pop_ and fell to the ground with a tiny thud, the years of dust and the treasure cushioning the impact. Then the glow started to fade, much faster then the lid did with opening.

When they opening their eyes again, there was only a faint blue sparkle, but now it was not just on the coffin, it was everything, making the room glow and shine. The boys now noticed that everything was made out of gold.

But that only caught their attention of a split second, before they remembered the girl in the coffin. They looked up to find that she was still there, still seeming to be asleep. Her breathing, though, was now more pronounced.

Inuyasha got up, favoring his broken wrist, to take a look, but Miroku grabbed him.

"Don't!" He whispered. "Something else might happen!"

"So?" Inuyasha whispered back. "I wanna see what's up with her."

Shaking off Miroku hand, he took a careful step forward, sliding some of the coins under him around. It was not much noise, but the girls eyes shifted slightly. Inuyasha was now very excited and he walked the rest of the way to the now open coffin, to take a better look.

"Wow…" He whispered, as the full impact of what he saw hit him.

There, right in front of him, was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She seemed flawless, her hair perfectly straight, and her body wonderfully formed. Her hands rested, one over the other, on her stomach, the rest of her body straight. He reached out his good hand to touch her.

"Don't!" Miroku half moaned, half cried, now wishing he had not taken Inuyasha along. However, Inuyasha had not heard and his hand made contact with the girl's cheek.

The reaction was instantaneous. Her hand flew up and grabbed his in an iron grip. Inuyasha tried to pull away, but she did not even budge. He watched her face and saw her starting to stir.

Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was Inuyasha. But when she opened her mouth, only a strange hoarse cough came out, making her clutch at her through with her other hand. Her eyes, though, never left Inuyasha, as though he were the most fascinating thing she had ever seen.

"Inuyasha?" Miroku said, not able to see what was going on because Inuyasha's body was in his way." What's the matter?"

"Water." Inuyasha called quietly. "Bring me some water from my pack."

"Why?" Miroku said, though he got up to do it.

"Just go." Inuyasha said, not noticing that is what he was doing.

"Whoa!" Miroku cried, as he joined Inuyasha and saw that the girl was awake and clutching Inuyasha's hand still. Her eyes finally shifted from Inuyasha's face, now going to Miroku's and finally down to the water bottle. She edged away from it, but her movements were stiff.

"Here." Inuyasha said, pointing at the bottle and as Miroku offered it to her, but she only backed away more. "There's nothing wrong with it." He said, but she did not take it still. "Watch" he said, and, having Miroku unscrew it and hold it up to his lips, Inuyasha took a small sip. "See?" He said. "Nothing's wrong."

For a moment the girl still looked weary, but finally she scooted back over and, taking her hand from her throat, took the water bottle carefully. She took a small sip and a moment later was chugging down the whole thing. When there was not even a drop left she offered it back to Miroku, who took it and put it in his pack.

"So…" he said. "Who are you? What's your name?"


End file.
